Comments on: Can anime surpass its source material? Part One: manga-based series

By: Karura

Karura — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 18:05:52 +0000

Kare Kano is a great story no matter what you do to it, but I felt a little divorced from the anime because the low budget animation always made it hard to get into when I’d sit down and start watching (by the end of a disc, I’d have gotten used to it, but there was always that transition phase), and of course, the anime just ended without covering the whole story. For those reasons I have to cast my vote for the manga.

By: ojisan

ojisan — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 17:51:38 +0000

Kakura, how do think you’ll weigh in on Kare Kano manga vs anime? It’s a tough comparison!

By: DMJewelle

DMJewelle — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 04:33:13 +0000

Escaflowne is another example of the anime being better than the two mangas it spawned. One version of the manga had Hitomi doing nothing but whining and losing her clothes, and the other had an underdeveloped plot.

By: Karura

Karura — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 17:50:22 +0000

veggies, I agree with you on HiME but because the manga didn’t come first, it wasn’t eligible for this piece.

Sonicbug, I would love to read the original Chevalier novel too, it would definitely be interesting.

By: Sonicbug

Sonicbug — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 04:10:31 +0000

I agree with Inuhanyou about D. Gray-man. I think the anime isn’t as interesting and it has a lot to do with the art and the inevitable toning down of the violence. The art in the manga is very Edward Gory meets Loligoth, and it makes it interesting to look at. The anime just seems to have been homogenized rather than trying to keep the distinct art style.

As for D’eon, I’d like to know what the novel the guy wrote is like. The manga and the anime are both adaptations off of that, overseen by the author. So it’s like he wrote 3 different versions of the same story in different styles, which is pretty cool in of itself.

By: veggies

veggies — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 06:06:32 +0000

Mai-Hime is a pretty good example of an anime outclassing it’s Manga counterpart.

Another one I can think of this year was Black Lagoon. It’s nearly scene for scene with the manga, but the fluid animation and extra attention paid to making the gunfights exciting make it far more entertaining than the manga.

Of course, then there’s about 10-15 failures for every success, depending on who you ask, of course.

By: Karura

Karura — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 09:11:00 +0000

wontaek, I’ve read about nine chapters of Koi Kaze and I can see your point- I feel like I’m still waiting for the story to properly get started. I should be getting the anime boxset for Christmas, though, so I’ll be able to compare them.

By: Anga

Anga — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 07:39:47 +0000

When I read manga more than often I have already seen the anime version, that way I can experience same story again with little different medium. There is mainly two reasons for this, I know it’s good and I also notice smaller details within characters. Though it doesn’t work other way around, from manga to anime manga always feels better.

By: wontaek

wontaek — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 04:05:57 +0000

If you want the greatest improvement of Anime series over original Manga material, I say Koi Kaze is the best example. The original manga was C class stuff, with the story plot not being cohere at the beginning and we do not get much depth of passion and despair that is inside Koshiro and later, within Nanoka. With slight change of pacing and good voice acting, the anime series changed the whole thing into calm at surface yet torrent within type drama. This happens immediately at the episode 1 which is the manga’s 1st chapter as well. In end, when Nanoka says ‘Onichan’, in manga, her expression, mood, and following events made it ’sound’ as if she was excited and fascinated. In the Anime, it was much more bewilderment with a hint of disappointment. This little change in ‘tone’, followed by introducing Koshiro’s anguish in dark manner accentuated the dillema in anime, while the manga made the whole thing like a brother being caught doing something embarassing. While manga puts much humor into the situation, the humor is kept minimal at 2nd episode, thus establishing the air of disappointment, dread, and frustrations. I may be overexaggerating about the anime series while looking down on the manga for this series, but this is a series definitely worth studying for many reasons.

By: dsong

dsong — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 00:49:42 +0000

Initial D is an easy choice for me. The manga was decent enough, but the anime really captivated me. Must be the night settings, the Eurobeat music, and the crazy race animation.